Peach Smoothie

Rating: 5 stars

Prep time: Easy

A perfect, simple, tangy peach smoothie!

Peach Smoothie

3/4 cup plain yogurt

1 large peach (1 1/2 regular peaches)

1 T orange juice concentrate

1 T sugar

4-8 ice cubes

Blend until smooth, adding ice until your desired thickness is reached. May need a little more sugar if your peaches aren't naturally super sweet. Enjoy!

Tamales

Rating: 5 stars

Prep time: Hard (but really, not that hard!)

 Don't let everything you read about tamales being "tricky" scare you. These take some prep work, but they turned out perfect the first time I made them! This recipe is my own, after I spent about a day reading everything Google had to say about making perfect tamales.

4 cups masa harina (Mexican corn flour)

1-2 cups broth (I used beef broth made from roast drippings and my rotisserie chicken stock—and then when I ran out I used a little whey from the queso fresco I'd made earlier that day!)

1 t salt

1 1/3 cup softened/room temperature butter (or lard, if you have it!)

2 t baking powder

1 package dried corn husks

You can use whatever fillings you like, honestly. Traditional tamales usually have some sort of meat and chilis, but the possibilites are endless. They even make sweet tamales in Mexico. I did two fillings when I made them, both very simple and easy to whip up—for the first one, I took about 1/2 of a leftover pot roast and mixed it together with some queso fresco. Done! For the other filling, I boiled a chicken breast and then shredded it, added in about 2 ounces of cream cheese, and some seasonings (chili powder, cayenne pepper, cumin, black pepper, salt). They both turned out great! I don't like things very spicy, so if you want a "hot" tamale, use spicy peppers or more dried chili powder/cayenne pepper!

Put about 2 dozen corn husks into a bowl to soak. In a large bowl or stand mixer (I used my Kitchenaid with the paddle attachment, but a sturdy set of hand beaters would work too), cream together butter and salt with about 1 tbsp broth until it's smooth and beginning to look "fluffy." Add in masa, baking powder, and about 1 cup broth. Mix on medium until everything comes together. The final consistency you are looking for is sort of like dry peanut butter - it won't be greasy, but it will be soft and spreadable. Add more broth as needed. You will want to keep "whipping" the tamale dough for several minutes even after you have the right broth ratio; the more you whip your dough, the lighter and fluffier your tamales will be. To test if the dough is ready, take a small ball of dough and place it in a cup of warm water. If the ball floats, it's done. If it sinks right to the bottom, you need to keep whipping. (I probably whipped for about 4-5 minutes total). 

Unwrap soaked corn husks and spread out on the counter. Take a spoon (or wet hands) and spread tamale dough, about 1/4" thick, on the lower (wider) half of the corn husk (you'll want 1/4-1/2" of room on all three sides). Place a generous tablespoon of filling in the center of the dough. Bring one side of the husk and fold it over the filling (you'll want it to just barely cover the filling). Bring the other side of the husk over the filling as well, so that the sides meet or just barely overlap. (I actually was pretty meticulous and made sure that my dough seamed together on my tamales, but you don't have to be that anal if you don't want to!) Fold long (narrow) end over so that it covers the seam you've just made and makes it a nice little package. Place open side up in a steamer (you want them to all be standing up vertically, packed together). Note: The corn husks are all different sizes—at least mine were. So don't expect your tamales to be totally uniform in size!

Steam for about 40 minutes. The tamales should not be standing in any water, however, MAKE SURE THAT YOU ARE REPLENISHING YOUR WATER IN THE BOTTOM REGULARLY. Probably more often than you think you need to! I thought I got to it soon enough, but I ended up MELTING THE BOTTOM OF MY POT! So if you're not using an actual tamale steamer, be sure you're not too far away from the stove!

Serve with sour cream and, if desired, salsa (and/or chili sauce, which is the traditional topping—but remember, I don't like spicy!). This recipe yields somewhere in the vicinity of 2 dozen.

Rice And Beans

{Picture coming soon!}

Rating: 5 stars

Prep time: Easy

This spring, I've been trying to incorporate a few meatless meals into our lives for health and budget reasons. So far, this is the only meatless meal (it's not really "vegetarian" since it has chicken stock in it) that my meat-and-potatoes husband approves of. It's a simple dish, but one so packed with flavor that it's hard to stop eating! It would also make a great filler for tacos or stuffed peppers.

1 clove garlic

1 T olive oil

1 cup rice (I always use brown—you can also replace the rice with quinoa, which is delicious!)

2 cups chicken stock

3 cups black beans

1/2 cup corn (cooked)

1 bell pepper, chopped

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1 tsp. chili powder or mexican spice blend (I use a tex-mex blend that has chili powder, cayenne pepper, and other things)

1 T lemon or lime juice

1/2 t dried cilantro

Finely chop garlic. In medium saucepan, sautee garlic in olive oil until garlic is just barely beginning to brown. Add rice and sautee for a minute, then add chicken stock. Allow everything to come to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to medium-low (it should be higher than a simmer, but not a full boil). Cook for about 20 minutes, or until the rice has absorbed the liquid. Add all other ingredients and cook for another two or three minutes. Serve hot.

Zebra Brownies

{Picture coming soon}

Rating: 5 stars

Prep time: Medium (Still easy, but a little more involved than a box of brownie mix)

Cream cheese "zebra" brownies have always been my very favorite kind of brownie. I have been wanting to make some for weeks, and having company for dinner tonight gave me the excuse I needed! I adapted this recipe from a few different recipes, and it turned out perfectly. I may never be able to go back to brownies out of a box again!

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1 stick butter plus 2 tablespoons

1 cup cocoa

1 cup sugar

1/2 t. salt

1 1/2 t. vanilla

4 eggs

2 c. white flour

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. In medium bowl, beat cream cheese with electric beater until soft. Add vanilla, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1 egg and cream together until smooth. Set aside. In medium saucepan on stove, melt butter. Mix in cocoa and stir until combined. Remove from heat and add sugar, salt, vanilla, eggs, flour, and chocolate chips. Stir until combined. Pour into a greased 9x13" pan. Drop spoonfuls of cream cheese mixture over the top of brownie batter and use a knife to swirl the two together. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center is no longer gooey. Enjoy... and try not to eat too many!

Making Chicken Stock From Rotisserie Chicken

Over the past few years, I've experimented with making more and more things from scratch... but until recently, I had never made my own chicken stock. I decided about two months ago that that was going to change! Inspired by a method on "Our Best Bites," I used a rotisserie chicken carcass to make some truly delicious chicken stock. I plan on doing this once a month for, oh, the rest of my life! I don't know if I can go back to bullion cubes!

I tweaked the original method a little bit. Here is how I did it:

Ingredients:

1 rotisserie chicken carcass, picked clean of meat (I picked all the meat off and then used it in meals throughout the rest of the week)

1 medium onion

1 potato

A few cloves of garlic, peeled

Fresh ground pepper, coarse

LOTS of coarse salt

Rosemary, parsley, thyme, bay leaves, basil (and really, whatever spices you feel like!)

Water

In large stock pot, place chicken carcass, root vegetables, and seasonings. (Don't skimp on the salt... and plan on adding still more later. I had Mahon periodically taste the stock, and he kept adding a ton!) Fill pot with water until your water depth is about 3 inches over the chicken. Bring to a boil on high heat, then turn to low and cover. Simmer at least 3 hours (I tasted mine after about 2 and then added more salt and spices) or until broth is a rich golden color and has lots of flavor. (Note: I usually start mine in the morning and leave it on all day. The longer it simmers, the more nutrients and rich flavor it has!)

Strain all ingredients through a colander. I got about 20 cups of stock out of this! To store it, I froze it in various containers—one that held about a quart (I later used that big container to make chicken noodle soup) and several pint-sized freezer jam containers. I also filled three ice cube trays with stock, let them freeze, and then transferred the stock cubes to a ziploc freezer bag. Each cube was about 1/8 cup, and they were GREAT for anytime I needed a cup or less of stock—I could just pull out a few cubes and let them melt in whatever I was making!

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

Rating: 5 stars (Mahon literally just ate this for breakfast!)

Prep time: Easy-medium

My mom taught me to make chicken noodle soup with a can of cream of chicken in it to make it a little bit creamy. Lately I've been making my own chicken gravy (recipe to come soon) instead of cream of chicken soup, so I don't have any on hand anymore. I wanted a way to make my chicken noodle soup still a little creamy, so the other night I did some experimenting. Mahon pronounced this "the best chicken soup" he'd ever eaten, and we both were practically licking our bowls by the end! The tiny hint of chili powder gives it just the barest, most subtle kick and helps round out the flavor beautifully. If you want it less creamy, halve the roux mixture and add a little more broth or water.

5 cups chicken stock (I used homemade—it really made a HUGE difference!)

2 T butter

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1/2 bell pepper, chopped

1 clove garlic, diced

1/4 cup flour

1 1/4 cups milk

2 medium carrots, peeled and diced

1-2 stalks celery, sliced

1 chicken breast, boiled and chopped

About 1/2 cup small pasta or egg noodles

1/8 t chili powder

Salt and pepper

In medium saucepan, melt butter and sautee onion, pepper, and garlic on medium-high heat until just barely brown (about 2 minutes). Add 1/8 t. chili powder. Add in flour and stir quickly to combine. Cook a minute or two, until mixture is thick and bubbly. Turn heat down to medium, add in milk and stir to combine. Cook, stirring constantly, for about three minutes or until mixture is thick and bubbly. (Cooking hint: This is called "making a roux", pronounced "roo." A roux, or basic white sauce, is the basis of a lot of recipes!) Add in chicken stock and stir until stock and roux are well-integrated. Turn heat down to medium-low and add carrots, celery, chicken, salt, and pepper. Cover and let simmer for about 20 minutes, or until carrots are just barely tender. Turn heat back up to medium-high, add pasta, and cook until pasta is done. Serve with bread (we made a version of the 5-minute boule using about 1/2 wheat flour, and it was delicious!). A great rainy day meal!

Freezer instructions: Omit milk and freeze; add milk while cooking after freezing.

Strawberry Vinaigrette

Rating: 5 stars

Prep time: Super easy

Someone gave us some beautiful garden spinach the other night, but since we haven't eaten much salad in the past year (it hasn't done well with my stomach issues) we didn't have any dressings on hand. Though Mahon and I are both diehard Ranch dressing fans, we wanted something quick and easy the other night to eat our spinach with. We both also happen to be diehard fruit vinaigrette fans, so I took a few nearly-dead strawberries in our fridge and whipped up this strawberry vinaigrette! It turned out PERFECT, and was so easy to make!

1/4 cup mashed strawberries

Just under 1/3 cup vinegar (we used red wine vinegar because that's what we had; I would imagine it would also be good with white wine vinegar, balsamic, or maybe even apple cider—anything but regular white, probably)

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Honey to taste (I probably used a little under a tablespoon)

Mash strawberries with fork until they are well mashed and separated, but not pureed. Add vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper and mix vigorously with a fork until liquids are combined. Add honey a little at a time until the dressing reaches the desired flavor—it shouldn't be sweet, but it shouldn't be take-the-roof-of-your-mouth-off sour, either. Add more salt and pepper if desired. Serve over any kind of salad—it was to die for on our fresh spinach!